summer programs narrowed to two choices...help

[HopefulMonster]

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I'm having a hard time deciding where to spend my summer. Have any of you participated in the following programs? Even if you haven't, which would you choose and why? Any input is appreciated.

http://genecenter.hunter.cuny.edu/spurshow.asp
SPUR- Gene Center at Hunter College, CUNY
8 weeks
New York, NY

http://www.tufts.edu/sackler/programs/summer.html
BDBS- Tufts Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences
10 weeks
Boston, MA

I believe both are part of the leadership alliance (the LA website has these sites and takes me to the same webpages) but I did not apply through the leadership alliance, but rather through each individual program.

I've spent a summer in Boston (Cambridge) before, back when I was in high school, and loved it. I would love to go back, and it seems like the Tufts name has a little more prestige than Hunter.

However, I would also love to live in New York for 2 months, as I think this would be a cool experience. What say you SDNers? Help me make my decision easier.

 

[ksmi117]

I'm having a hard time deciding where to spend my summer. Have any of you participated in the following programs? Even if you haven't, which would you choose and why? Any input is appreciated.

http://genecenter.hunter.cuny.edu/spurshow.asp
SPUR- Gene Center at Hunter College, CUNY
8 weeks
New York, NY

http://www.tufts.edu/sackler/programs/summer.html
BDBS- Tufts Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences
10 weeks
Boston, MA

I believe both are part of the leadership alliance (the LA website has these sites and takes me to the same webpages) but I did not apply through the leadership alliance, but rather through each individual program.

I've spent a summer in Boston (Cambridge) before, back when I was in high school, and loved it. I would love to go back, and it seems like the Tufts name has a little more prestige than Hunter.

However, I would also love to live in New York for 2 months, as I think this would be a cool experience. What say you SDNers? Help me make my decision easier.

Assuming you get accepted to both, I'd say go with the one that pays more. To me, research is research. Either is a great opportunity. So you might as well get the most out of it that you can. 🙂

 

[DOquestions]

Assuming you get accepted to both, I'd say go with the one that pays more. To me, research is research. Either is a great opportunity. So you might as well get the most out of it that you can. 🙂

Agreed. Just take the one that pays more or requires less expenses in your part. Only being there for 8 to 10 weeks won't really do all that good anyways.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agreed. Just take the one that pays more or requires less expenses in your part. Only being there for 8 to 10 weeks won't really do all that good anyways.

Yes and no. It is highly unlikely that you will do enough work to merit a publication, or likely even an abstract, during just 8-10 weeks. Honestly, whenever you're starting a new project, you should imagine that the first few weeks, if not months, will be spent just learning HOW to do certain techniques and troubleshooting your methods. My experience as an undergrad was that by the time I was finally into the swing of these summer research things, the summer was over.

However, at the undergrad level, not everything is about publications. Adcoms know that at this level, getting a pub is much more about having lucky connections or tagging onto the right lab group at a lucky time than about merit; while a pub is always nice, just having the experience of spending time scientifically testing a novel hypothesis is meaningful in and of itself.

Personally, I think that cost should also probably be your top deciding factor. However, you might want to consider the Tufts more carefully if you think you might want to apply there in a few years. It certainly never hurts to have a letter from some faculty at the med school to get your foot in the door 🙂

 

[DOquestions]

Yes and no. It is highly unlikely that you will do enough work to merit a publication, or likely even an abstract, during just 8-10 weeks. Honestly, whenever you're starting a new project, you should imagine that the first few weeks, if not months, will be spent just learning HOW to do certain techniques and troubleshooting your methods. My experience as an undergrad was that by the time I was finally into the swing of these summer research things, the summer was over.

However, at the undergrad level, not everything is about publications. Adcoms know that at this level, getting a pub is much more about having lucky connections or tagging onto the right lab group at a lucky time than about merit; while a pub is always nice, just having the experience of spending time scientifically testing a novel hypothesis is meaningful in and of itself.

Personally, I think that cost should also probably be your top deciding factor. However, you might want to consider the Tufts more carefully if you think you might want to apply there in a few years. It certainly never hurts to have a letter from some faculty at the med school to get your foot in the door 🙂

I did a summer internship at one of the world's most famous labs for that specific field. I basically spent half of the summer under supervision (which was fine) and the other half doing the research on my own. The program was setup to help students learn what research is about, how it is done, and so forth.

 

[HopefulMonster]

thanks for your replies.

 

[DrBeks]

I have a question....what about a summer research oppourtunity that pays 5000 dollars and I would be able to go to Hawaii with my family or SMDEP? Basically...is SMDEP worth it?